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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Christine Rains: Writing Romance

Christine Rains is here today to share with us some tips for writing romance. Take it away, Christine!
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It's that time of year when love is in the air. Hearts decorate store windows and chocolates fill their shelves. The best restaurants are booked up and jewelers tell you every kiss begins with a diamond. There's the lovely scent of fresh flowers and greeting cards.

None of this sounds particularly romantic, does it? No, certainly not. How would we write romance stories if it was only about pretty baubles and good food? Romance is the most popular genre for a reason. It's about two people falling in love. It's about intense emotions and noble actions. It isn't an easy tale to write.

Here are four key things to remember when writing romance:1. Sympathetic and realistic characters. Even if you're writing a love story about vampires, the reader has to be able to identify with the main characters. They must have human emotions and flaws, and they must tackle conflict realistically.

2. Conflict and common ground. Of course there has to be something or someone trying to prevent the couple from having their happily ever after. It might even be the protagonists themselves wrestling with inner turmoil. But for a relationship to be believable, they must find common ground somewhere. A goal, a belief, or a beloved hobby. Opposites do attract, but something other than lust and external conflict must bind them together.

3. The relationship must be central to the plot. If you could write the same story without the relationship, then it isn't a romance story. The romance must propel the story forward.

4. Sacrifice. The characters must be willing to give up everything to be with the person they love. In some stories, it's their own lives, but not every tale requires it. Yet it must feel like the ultimate sacrifice to the one giving whatever it is up.

We may be bombarded by the commercial aspects of Valentines Day, but we are celebrating loving another person despite their flaws and spending time with them doing something both of you enjoy. We realize that our lives wouldn't be the same without that person in it, and we'd be willing to sacrifice anything to make sure they stay.

'...something other than lust and external conflict must bind them together.'

Nothing worse than picking up a (what you hope is going to be a lovely) romance only to have lust as the driving force. I'm a sucker for a good love story, but there HAS to be that inner turmoil & external conflict just like you said. Otherwise the book gets dumped in the 'didn't finish' pile.

Oh wow, good advice. I have to go run my own story through the sieve of #2...other things besides physical attraction and the external conflict binding 2 people together! Happy Valentine's Day, Christine and Lyn!!

I don't know if I could ever write in the romance genre - the character depth and interesting inner dialogue needed to keep it interesting and fresh (which romance authors do so well) would intimidate me. :) But your four principals (well, except 3) hold pretty true across genres, so thanks for the advice! :)

This is good advice, especially because I was struggling with how to incorporate romance into my own story. I especially agree with the part about sacrifice; I read stories about protagonists who fell in love with selfish people, and those romances usually didn't last long because the selfish people were unwilling to make sacrifices for the people they claimed to love.

Hello, I am Yvonne from Yvonne's Poetry Corner, I am an ambassador for Arlee Bird of the A to Z Challenge. As you have signed to take part have you considered putting the A to Z logo on your blog? I enjoyed reading your post and will certainly return during the challenge to read some of your work.Yvonne.

Thank you, Michelle. For the longest time, I never considered myself a romance author, but suddenly I realized I was. It was a bit shocking because all I thought I was doing was practicing good characterization.

I love the first tip about sympathetic characters - so many writers seem to fail at that, believing the idea or the concept is the most important thing about their story. If you don't care about what happens to the characters though, the rest really doesn't matter. Good stuff.

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Welcome to Lynda R Young's blog. The content includes writing tips and some random meanderings. I'm an Aussie and proud of it. All the photos you see on my blog were taken by me unless otherwise stated.